Trump's Travel Ban Has Been Halted

Just one week ago from today, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would affect millions of Americans, immigrants, and travelers — and rightfully faced immediate criticism. Over the past week, Trump's travel ban has been protested and criticized relentlessly. But on Friday night, there was some good news. A restraining order has been place on Trump's travel ban by a federal judge — but what does the restraining order on Trump's travel ban mean?

It means that the executive order — Trump's travel ban — put in place last week will be "stopped nationwide, effective immediately," according to The Hill. This restraining order, which blocked the impact of Trump's executive order according to Politico, was put in place by federal Judge James Robart, appointed by former president George W. Bush in 2003. Last Saturday, a judge in New York temporarily blocked Trump's travel ban, allowing for lawful visa and green card holders not to be removed from the United States, according to CNN. This new restraining order is nationwide, according to The Hill — which makes the order the "broadest to date" against any of Trump's executive orders. According to The Hill, Judge Robart claimed that the states had suffered from the travel ban — leaving opponents for Trump's travel ban to rejoice on Friday evening.

The White House responded to the restraining order on Friday night, issuing this statement, according to CNN:

At the earliest possible time, the Department of Justice intends to file an emergency stay of this outrageous order and defend the executive order of the president, which we believe is lawful and appropriate. The president's order is intended to protect the homeland and he has the constitutional authority and responsibility to protect the American people. As the law states, "Whenever the president finds the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or non-immigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he deem appropriate."

So what the White House is trying to say is, is that Trump's travel ban is not illegal and therefore should not have this restraining order placed against it. Think what you may but the travel ban is completely unfair and unconstitutional. This restraining order is a beacon of hope for those traveling to and from the seven restricted countries into our nation.

According to CNN, this restraining order means that airlines will begin "reinstating visas" and that airlines are "back to business as usual," according to The Hill. This also means that airlines will "start removing travel alerts from their websites," according to CNN. Although it is now unclear what effect the Department of Justice and the White House will now have on the restraining order — and if it will have any effect at all. According to USA Today, the next step will be for the federal government to file an appeal of the restraining order.

The restraining order against Trump's travel ban was just one small victory against the unfair actions from the president during the past 14 days of presidency. While Trump and the White House has made it clear that they will not back down without a fight, the law and the American people have made it clear that they will definitely do the same.